Rosie Allen, afternoon news anchor at KGO-AM 810, is retiring from the station after 25 years.
The real story? Allen, who is a real classy lady and did wonders for afternoon drive, saw the handwriting on the wall. In only her early 60's and still the ace news anchor at the dominant SF news/talk outlet, I'm quite certain she'd have stayed on a few more years, but the dicey, financial state of KGO and its corporate owner, Citadel, I'm sure, was instrumental in Allen's sudden retirement.
There was even some early speculation that Allen may have been offered a buyout from KGO mgt. After all, her popular co-anchor, Greg Jarrett, was let go at KGO last year. Like Allen, Jarrett was one of KGO's highest-paid talent. (He is now working morning radio in Chicago.)
One radio insider, who knows Allen well, had this blunt reaction to my analysis:
That’s probably correct. She was high salaried and her color makes it tough for them to fire her. But there are lots of fire fighters, police and military types who retire at 65.
I'll stick to my story. I'm not suggesting that there was something sinister about Allen's retirement; 25 years is a lot of time at any company--I'm merely saying the environment in the world of major-market broadcasting may have contributed to Allen's move.
UPDATE: Allen will be a guest on Ronn Owens show Wednesday from 11AM-12PM.
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